The National Rifle Association’s convention in Houston this weekend bristled with the combative and triumphant
rhetoric of a group that achieved a major victory in 2013: completely
defeating the White House-backed package of gun-control legislation.

On the surface, the gun-rights group seems stronger than ever
with tens of thousands enthusiastic participants, record high membership
and effusive approval for the path taken by the its leader, Wayne
LaPierre.

Beneath the surface, however, some of the NRA’s allies are
uneasy, saying publicly and privately that the organization is facing
long-term — and even short-term — challenges on a scale it has not faced
before.

The concerns are playing out in a debate over whether the NRA and
gun-rights advocates made a mistake by pugnaciously opposing all of
this year’s major gun-control proposals — including legislation
expanding background checks for gun purchases sponsored by two
NRA-backed senators, Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey
(R-Pa.). That measure failed in a high-profile vote last month.